Riding with the "Avatar" director was an
entourage of 30, including X Prize chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, private
rocket builder Elon Musk ? CEO of SpaceX ? and three members of the public who won
an auction to join the flight. [Photo: James Cameron in Zero G]

The
passengers rode aboard G-Force
One, a modified Boeing 727-200 jet owned by the Zero
Gravity Corrporationof Vienna, Va., that is flown in parabolic arcs across the sky to induce a few
moments of zero gravity, as well as simulated Mars (1/3-strength) and
lunar (1/6-strength) gravity.

The auction raised a total of $210,000 for the
California-based non-profit foundation, which aims to stimulate technology
breakthroughs in life sciences, energy and the environment, education and
global development, and space and ocean exploration. Normally, tickets for a
weightless ride aboard G Force One costs about $4,950 per person.

"The rapid acceleration of technology is enabling small
teams to conduct exploration that was only possible by national
governments," Cameron said in a statement. "The X Prize Foundation
helps to set and incentivize audacious and worthy targets. If 'Avatar' has
created heightened interest on the importance of caring for our environment,
science exploration and the potential for groundbreaking innovation then we
have succeeded."

In
2004 the X Prize foundation bestowed $10 million on the
Scaled Composites company for building the first privately funded reusable
manned spacecraft. Since then, the foundation has developed new contests with
multimillion-dollar prizes for achievements in moon exploration, automotive
fuel economy and genetics research, among others.

"Entrepreneurs and innovators are creating technologies
which are making spaceflight affordable... whether it is flying aboard a Zero-G
flight, a sub-orbital flight into space, or a private flight to orbit,"
Diamandis said. "The funds raised during this flight will help us design
and launch audacious future X Prizes which will help humanity expand beyond the
bounds of Earth."